Squat

[tri2bmt]

Hello all I need an exercise to do for my legs instead of the squat because I have no rack. Is the lunge as beneficial? Any suggestions would be good.
Thanks

[Ford Prefect]

Deadlift variations can do the trick. You might also try pistols (one legged squats) When you get strong enough to do 15 or so, you can start holding plates to add resistance.

[Robinf]

Lunges are also good. Try front lunge, side lunge and turning lunge. Also, give lunge to balance a try.

I would do these in conjunction with the deadlift.

Robin

[nospam]

I take it you do not go to a gym?

You can still do the squat at home. The rack is only for heavy weight anywho. If you're working out at home or working out infrequently, a rack doesn't matter.

The lunge is a nice alternative. Hold it for a count of 3. Plus you can fatique the leg better by performing 3 lunges subsequently with the same leg, then switching. Feel da burn.

nospam.
:cool:

[SevenStar]

One legged squats and hindu squats

[WinterPalm]

I enjoy squats quite a lot as a supplement to my stance training but don't have a gym membership. Is there any way that I could make a home squat rack without spending ridiculous amounts of money? Have any of you built your own?

[Mr. Bao]

You are better off buying a convetional power rack and a bar and some irons plates. But you should try to master your body weight first before using weights. It is my thought that unless you can control your own body weight, you have no business messing with external weight. Unless you can do single arm push ups, chins, pull ups, single leg squat you don't need to mess around with weights yet. Does this make sense to anyone here? I am working on doing single leg squats and even chins. Great men like Bruce Lee and others martial artists, had functional strength by first mastering their own body weights before hitting the iron bar and plates.

It is funny that people want to sprint before they can even walk. Can you do 300 or 500 reps of body weight squats? How about single leg squats? I mean with clean and control reps? If you want to improve your stance, try to focus on your own body weight first. If you practice kung fu, then keep things simple and use what God gave you first. Then improve what God didn't give you and improve his f###ed up... lol


Bao

[tiger2dragon]

You really do not need a "squat rack". The cheapest and easiest to build, if you know someone who can do some welding, is use two tire rims and two steel poles. Have the poles cut to the height you need for your body(cut off about shoulder height), cut a notch in the top to receive the bar and get the poles welded into the holes in the center of the rims. I have a set of these that have last 20 years. They are not pretty but they are functional. As far as not working out with weights till you can do your body weight. I feel that is wrong there is no better way in the world to build your muscle that to lift weight.

[Lung Hu Pai]

You could also try front squats and overhead squats.

[IronFist]

Originally posted by Mr. Bao
It is funny that people want to sprint before they can even walk. Can you do 300 or 500 reps of body weight squats? How about single leg squats? I mean with clean and control reps? If you want to improve your stance, try to focus on your own body weight first. If you practice kung fu, then keep things simple and use what God gave you first. Then improve what God didn't give you and improve his f###ed up... lol


Alright. First I must agree with your advice (even tho I deleted it from the quote) because you might as well buy a power rack. You're not going to build your own squat rack.

But don't worry about doing 300-500 bodyweigth squats before you start doing bodyweight squats. I bet you 9 out of 10 world class squatters who can squat 800+ lbs can't do 300 bodyweight squats either :)

But then again, if you have absolutely no access to a squat rack, bodyweight squats are way better than nothing :)

Bodyweight squats = good for endurance

Barbell squats = good for maximal strength

Combination of both = good training idea.

As Mr. Bao mentioned, you can also do one legged squats, altho for me I don't feel these work my quads that well... for example, after 10 sets of barbell squats when my quads are completely fried, I can still do one legged bw squats. But hey, I'm weird :)

IronFist

[Mr. Bao]

Iron Fist:

If you want to focus more on your quad in single leg squats, there is a number of ways. Here are some of my ideas:

1. Take a 4X4 block and place your foot (not feet) on it like you would on a calf exercise, then do your single leg squat. Or take a iron plate and place under your foot.

2. 1 and quarter rep technique on single leg squat. Go all the way down, the half way up, back down again and all the way up.

3. Jumping single leg squats.

[abobo]

I always thought that one legged squats were only for balance and for scaring young children with one's physical badassery.

[rubthebuddha]

are you fellas concerned with how far out in front of you the knee gets when doing single-leggies, or is there something i don't know about squatting with one leg that would fix this?

:confused:

[ged]

i agree with mastering body-weight squats before using weights... but why master single-leg squats? to me, theyre very very different, with regards to posture and balance.

rubthebuddha - that annoys me too. that's kind of what i mean, i can't seem to use the same joint-angles with one legged squats.

[vingtsunstudent]

as with all things single leged squats just require practice of good technique and dedication, unfortunately for me i have neither but i promise you that one day i will accomplish this.
also the fact that i am rather on the large side of things(esp. weight wise) means that lifting this fat a$$ should give my muscles quite a workout during one leggers.
like iron said though it's all about what you are really training for and if you you want both endurance and power the you have to cycle them both.
i have personally built(ok a mate welded it for me, but it was my design) a squat rack that is easily capable of handling 150kg's, it also has a chin up bar attached and i can move a bench in and out for presses, the whole thing cost about australian$80(that's about $40US).
if you like you could post(or pm it to me) your e-mail add. and when i get a chance i could take a photo of it and e-mail it to you.
vts

[TkdWarrior]

Originally posted by rubthebuddha
are you fellas concerned with how far out in front of you the knee gets when doing single-leggies, or is there something i don't know about squatting with one leg that would fix this?

:confused:
i think they even get far out while doin simple squats..
-TkdWarrior-

[Ford Prefect]

You should always keep you shin perpendicular to the ground while squatting. Having your knee drift forward as it will in any butt-to-heel squatting movement can damage your knees badly. Some people can do this without a problem. Some people can't. The margin of error when squatting rock bottom is very small as well. Personally, I think it's best not to find out...

[Mr. Bao]

If doing single leg squats hurt your knee, it means you don't have enough core strength or that your legs aren't ready for this exercises, and/or that your techniques in squat is poor.

If you can do 300 body weight squats in good form (neutral spine and embracing your core and having good balance and proper lower body aligment), you should be able to do single leg squats. But much of it comes from proper core strength and flexibility.

Single leg squats works also your abs/lower back. It is a very functional lower body execise. In wing chun, we build our stance (ma) and kicking power from this kind of exercises, there is more but that is like top secret. lol.

[ElPietro]

I don't know what the obsession with single legged squats are. But if you are just concerned with muscle development, then they are no better than any other squat.

Also, doing 300 bodyweight squats seems rather pointless to me. You definitely don't need to do that to get anywhere with squatting.

Mastering your body is fine, but your muscles really don't care where the stimulus comes from, as long as it's working the tissue. Weighted movements give you a means to track your progress, and also allow you to increase weight rather easily.

A rack is ideal for squatting, but you could squat with dumbells in your hands instead. You could still use a barbell and use weight that you can powerclean, and then just powerclean the bar and do front squats.

Regular squats will work your quads, hamstrings, glutes, lowerback, hip flexors, abdominals, etc. There is nothing magical about single leg squats. If you insist on doing them, you can do them beside a bench and put your other foot on the bench for stability if you like. If you are doing them for balance that's fine...but it's not like it's better or worse than anything else.

Your knees should generally not pass your toes. The objective of a squat, is to sit back. I find it easier sometimes to go deeper with weight on my back, then with bodyweight.

[Ford Prefect]

El Pietro is correct. Single Leg squats are more of an exercise in balance than in muscular strength.

[tiger2dragon]

I agree with El Pietro and I am a personal trainer. Squats beat all for strength

[Mr. Bao]

Can I asked why you are barbell/dumbell and squat is better than doing body weight squat? By the way, I am a personal trainer as well.

If someone can squat heavy can they jump like MJ? If you take someone who has mastered the single leg squat vs someone who think it is for only for balance, I bet dollors to donuts that the person who can do single leg squats has more "functional strength" than the body builder who squats.

Here is a question for the personal trainers here. I am a martial artist, I want to improve my lower body strength. What kind of exercises do you recommend and why?

[tiger2dragon]

As the old saying goes for the number of people out there training, there is just as many techniques and theories and all are right.

Squating with a proper stretching program will stimulate more muscle growth. Muscle need to be pushed to grow, they have to be broken down, to do this they need more load put on them. Only when there is more load will strength increase.

1 legged is great and does do a job but it does not and cannot stimulate more muscle cells, to create the break down and growth to take place. Of all the clinical studies done squats have always come out ahead in muscle stimulation and overall body workout, if done properly. You need more resistance (weight) to build muscle strength.
But it will not help kicks unless done with a good stretching program.

[Ford Prefect]

If someone can squat heavy can they jump like MJ? If you take someone who has mastered the single leg squat vs someone who think it is for only for balance, I bet dollors to donuts that the person who can do single leg squats has more "functional strength" than the body builder who squats.


Tests done at the Mexico City Olympics show that Olypmic Weightlifters have the fastest 30 yard sprint and highest vertical leap (even more so that high jumpers) out of all the athletes there. This is because of the ballistic nature of the lifts which causes a much greater percentage of muscle fibers to fire. This translates over to explosiveness. So... YES! If you can squat heavy and practice in an explosive manner, than your vertical will go way up.

1 legged squat vs barbell squat argument almost makes me laugh. It is just for balance. I was a bodyweight advocate at one point. When I started squatting heavy, guess what? Doing one-legged squats was much easier. Use your head. If you can squat 600 lbs with two legs, then why would a one-legged squat of your 200 lbs frame do a thing?

[Mr. Bao]

Ford:

If you read my earlier posts I have said people should master their body weight first before they start using resistence exercises. You seem to have developed a firmed foundation in mastering your body weight from what your wrote, then went to convention power lifting. That is good and what I am telling people to do. I am also a firm believer in periodization and knowing how to cycle exerices, volume, and load.

But think about this and even test this out. If people did the reverse, started with power lifting/ body building then try to perform single leg squats, single arm push ups or chin, I bet you they can not. But this is only if they haven't master the fundamentals of developing their body weight first.

I do not think power lifting is bad, but people should mastery the basics first and go to lifting weight. They is many ways to do single leg squats that could develop and command true functional strength. I suggest you check it out some.

[abobo]

Well, chin ups are usually a staple of bodybuilding / weight training programs. Powerlifting is much more specific, and doesn't need that type of pull. An athlete with a weight training program could conceivably work up to a one armed pullup.

[rubthebuddha]

still waiting for a description of proper one-legged squat form. does the knee in use come move forward as the body wait lowers, or does the body weight move back more to keep the shin vertical?

as was stated earlier, having the shin lean more forward than perpendicular to the ground (or having the knee go out in front of the toe, depending on the standard) is overly stressingfor the typical person's knee joint and will cause damage.

anyone know of a link to a good visual demonstration, either a clip or pictures, of a proper one-legged squat?

[vingtsunstudent]

RTB
go to this site http://www.msnusers.com/PhiladelphiaareaKettlebellClub
click on the documents( you have to sign up, which costs nothing and only takes a couple of seconds) and you will find some brief vides of one legged squats.
vts

[rubthebuddha]

vts -- just what i wanted, and more. many thanks. :)

[Ford Prefect]

Hi Mr. Bao,

I see where you are coming from and I'd agree that master your body weight is a very good idea before training with weights. I've actually spoken with Dave Tate (of Westside Barbell) about this and he agrees as well. It builds a great a foundation to build off.

I just don't think it is necessary. I think after a certain time of lifting weights, the trainee will be strong enough and neurologically capable to pick of the bodyweight stuff quickly. I think Yoga or a martial art is a great addition to a weight lifters regimen because they stress balance and stability in ways that a lifter is lacking.

[IronFist]

I'm a personal trainer too! Yay!

IronFist

[monte]

Every other leg workout, I get in some sets of lunges(not sure if that is spelled right!)with a barbell right after squats. How much weight you use is up to you. This really blows up my outer quads! Some will say this excerise is usually for women, but your body doesn't know that!

[ElPietro]

What the hell does master your bodyweight mean? Let's look at this as a personal trainer should. If you are really a personal trainer, the first concern is, "what is your goal?" Master your bodyweight has absolutely no "functional" meaning whatsoever, so you are making absolutely no sense. A function is just something that is designed to contribute to a purpose. If you practice your martial arts techniques you are trying to get better at THOSE TECHNIQUES. If you are doing squats you are trying to get STRONGER LEGS. If you are doing single leg squats you are either working on balance, or can't afford to buy enough weight to adequately challenge you with two legs. There is nothing more to it. A real personal trainer would realize this. Mastering bodyweight is completely different from doing the exercise. Bodymechanics are much different when more weight is applied. I bet you 10 times out of 10 a bodyweight squat will be much more sloppy than someone with a bar on their back and 3 plates on the bar.

A bodyweight squat is just that. You are working your legs the exact same way, only with less weight. "Mastering" something is a very foolish term as well. What does that mean? I can go squat once and be a master if my form is correct, so that term is rather amusing. If your goal is to gain strength, or to gain size you need to progressively overload your muscles. It's practically not possible to do this with "bodyweight" only. Unless you plan on eating like a pig to get heavier so you can cause more resistance to your muscles. Starting off light is fine though...maybe less than bodyweight on an exercise is ideal. Can you do that without equipment? No. Start off light, learn good form, progressively overload. It's very simple, and very effective.

FYI claiming to be a personal trainer means absolutely nothing. Knowing your sh!t is what is important. Pieces of paper that you pay for are quite easy to get. And I don't think I've met anyone who's trained who wouldn't agree that 90% of personal trainers know practically nothing about muscle physiology. They sure are great at showing you to the machines though, and collecting your money.

[Mr. Bao]

EL:

What does bar bell squat have in common with the functional techniques of any kicking in any style of martial arts? Think about this? What muscles are involve in performing a good and powerful kick? Lets say you have good leg range of motion so tell me how does bar bell/ dumbell squat is going to help me to kick better.

Now tell me what does body weight squats or single leg squat have in common with the fucntional techniques of kicking in any style of martial arts? Think about the core, the spinal erectus, the multifidus muscles, the stablizers and the plane of movement: Saggital or transverse plane.

Kicking is an open and close chain chain exercise. Is convetional bar squat an open and close chain exercise? Is a single leg squat a close and open chain exercise? Do you know what is a close and open chain exercises? Hint: No functional strength exercises are open chain exercises. e.g., the leg extention on cybex, strive, or Icarian or even the Hammer Strength machines.

I what to hear your thoughts on this. I know that a piece of paper doesn't mean anything, but my experience does. My years in school studying exercise physiology, my time in the martial arts, and my three years as a personal trainer as taught me something.

[IronFist]

Ford Prefect and ElPietro own this thread. I have nothing more to add.

Unless, when ElPietro said:
FYI claiming to be a personal trainer means absolutely nothing

it was directed at me :D

When I said "I'm a personal trainer, too. Yay!" I was mocking all the people that throw that phrase around like it holds some sort of credibility.

But if it wasn't directed at me, then nevermind that last part cuz you already knew it :)

(I am really a certified personal trainer, but I didn't learn anything I didn't already know beforehand through the certification. Being a personal trainer really means nothing, as most seem to not know what they're talking about.)

IronFist

[ElPietro]

Originally posted by IronFist
Ford Prefect and ElPietro own this thread. I have nothing more to add.

Unless, when ElPietro said:
FYI claiming to be a personal trainer means absolutely nothing

it was directed at me :D

When I said "I'm a personal trainer, too. Yay!" I was mocking all the people that throw that phrase around like it holds some sort of credibility.

But if it wasn't directed at me, then nevermind that last part cuz you already knew it :)


Iron it wasn't directed at you. You will post information, and not back it up with your cert. You knew your sh!t before you got your piece of paper. I have much more respect for those that learn their stuff because they enjoy it, rather than because they have to learn it as a part of a course. You my friend fit this description. :)

[ElPietro]

Originally posted by Mr. Bao
EL:

What does bar bell squat have in common with the functional techniques of any kicking in any style of martial arts? Think about this? What muscles are involve in performing a good and powerful kick? Lets say you have good leg range of motion so tell me how does bar bell/ dumbell squat is going to help me to kick better.

Now tell me what does body weight squats or single leg squat have in common with the fucntional techniques of kicking in any style of martial arts? Think about the core, the spinal erectus, the multifidus muscles, the stablizers and the plane of movement: Saggital or transverse plane.

Ok since you insist on being taught basic muscle mechanics, we shall go through this exercise for the benefit of everyone. You seem to be trying to disguise your weak argument with vocab that you may or may not think I understand. I'll let you know I understand it, and what you say makes 0% sense whatsoever. A kick is a kick, a squat is a squat. Kicking will give you a good kick. Squatting will strengthen the muscles that squat. There is no method of squat that is designed for you to kick. They are different movements that may or may not use some of the same muscles.

Now let me ask you this...what muscles do a bodyweight squat use, that a barbell squat don't? I think you will be quite hard pressed to find a difference. Why? Because the mechanics are the same, only the resistance is different. Let's think of the core, spinal erectors, stabilizers and the plane of movement, do you see why these muscles would be worked differently in bodyweight movements versus barbell? I sure don't...why? Because it's the same **** thing! Your muscles don't become better at kicking because you did bodyweight squats, your legs don't know there is a bar on your back, all they know is the mechanics of the motion you are performing, and the weight of resistance being applied. With bodyweight it is generally fixed as the method implies. With a barbell, I can slide more or less weight on as desired. Perhaps you missed intro to muscle physiology and body mechanics when you took your course.




Kicking is an open and close chain chain exercise. Is convetional bar squat an open and close chain exercise? Is a single leg squat a close and open chain exercise? Do you know what is a close and open chain exercises? Hint: No functional strength exercises are open chain exercises. e.g., the leg extention on cybex, strive, or Icarian or even the Hammer Strength machines.

Haha, again, you are digging yourself a deeper hole. Do you really think you are training your kick when you do squats? If so you are a fool. Strengthening your legs and hips may allow you to develop a stronger kick, but without kicking you aren't going to be very good at it. Oh and whether something is open or closed chain only refers to whether or not the foot is fixed or free to move during the exercise. Again, good try at a smoke screen with the terminology, but just giving out what you seem to think is high level lingo to make yourself "appear" intelligent will not work here. Sorry son, intelligence is what we're after. You have typed a great deal out, and basically said that bodyweight squats are functional exercises and barbell are not. And you have asked me if I understand some of your rudimentary terminology. You coulda done that in two lines...more typing doesn't=intelligence. I may type a lot, but I like to think I get to the point and say what needs to be said. Functional strength is a very bogus term when it comes to weight training. If you wish to become functionally strong then you must actually PERFORM THE FUNCTION. So if you want a strong kick, then kick, if you want strong legs then apply resistance to them. How do you do this? With weights!!!



I what to hear your thoughts on this. I know that a piece of paper doesn't mean anything, but my experience does. My years in school studying exercise physiology, my time in the martial arts, and my three years as a personal trainer as taught me something.

Now you have heard my thoughts. I may come across as a bit rude, unfortunately sometimes this is just the way I type. I'm sure you have learned a lot in your time, but perhaps your understanding of some of your observations are somewhat skewed. I have also found that physiology taught in schools is often 10-15 years behind what is now common knowledge, so you may have been taught incorrectly. This is why many trainers are very poor on knowledge but pretty good in terminology. Their basic understanding of body mechanics and muscle physiology are just plain wrong.

[IronFist]

ElPietro,

Cheers :D

IronFist

[Ford Prefect]

Abobo,

Not to knitpick here, but the premier powerlifters work their lats heavy and often. The stronger and bigger your lats, the more stable you are on the bench because of both size and barbell control. The more stable you are on the bench, the more weight you put up. Take a look at westside training, and they hit the back 3rd every upperbody day and even on some leg days as well. This was more an FYI... ;)

[abobo]

Fair enough.

I mainly wrote that as I thought how a lot of people, including a buddy of mine with a big deadlift and bench press, have a lot of trouble with pullups.

I remember this article (http://www.geocities.com/scufc/Whypull-ups.html) that I had read sometime last year, which diagnosed him exactly. Actually he was doing cycling between the deadlift and squat, doing them multiple times per the week, and doing a lot of leg curls too.

Anyway, to wrap it up, I opened his eyes to pullups a couple of months ago. I don't know if they're helping his bench though. The other day he missed an attempt bad, and I had to save his neck :cool:.

[Ford Prefect]

Unfortunately, pull-ups won't help the bench as much as seated cable rows because with the rows, you are training the lats on the same plane they would be utilized during your bench. I'm sure they should still help though. Those guys don't bench 730+ for nothing! ;)

[SevenStar]

LOL@ this whole thread. Keep up the debate guys. I gotta side with Ford and El though

[Mr. Bao]

EL,

I am not a sophist and not using fancy words for my argument. lol. I have tried many times before to post a reply to your post. But it hasn't allowed to post and I have to relog every time. When I have more time, I will explain myself further.

[WinterPalm]

That pull up article just convinced me! I used to love pullups but lately have been neglecting them. I'm gonna start doing ladders again today!
Thanks for the great article abobo!

[guohuen]

Yeah, thanks. Good article.

[rubthebuddha]

indeed. speaking of pullups, anyone know of a good brand of bar you can buy that won't rape your doorframe?

[IronFist]

This is how I squat except:

1. I don't put my heels on anything.
2. I use collars (!)
3. I don't use a belt.
4. I use spotter bars in a cage or rack.

http://digilander.libero.it/mrolympia/m550.jpg

Why aren't the weights falling off? The bar is bent and there's no collars?

[Ford Prefect]

Good question. Maybe Arnold's ego is so dense it creates it's own gravitation field which is pulling the plates inwards.

I squat completely different but to each his own. Both are "correct" ways to squat.

[IronFist]

Originally posted by Ford Prefect
Good question. Maybe Arnold's ego is so dense it creates it's own gravitation field which is pulling the plates inwards.


^ rofl

I take it back. That's not exactly how I squat.. my feet are wider than that.

But the main reason I posted this was to get a good picture of someone squatting low. That's how low I go when I'm doing regular squats (as opposed to box squats, which I love now). The box that we have at my gym has me end up maybe .5-1" higher than that, but still just a tiny bit below parallel. I love our box cuz it happens to be the perfect height for my proportions.

I never understood why some people, especially high-level weight lifters like Arnold, need plates under their heels. I imagine it's a flexibility issue, right?

Ford, post a picture of how you squat just for comparitive issues. I'd take a picture of my squatting but my gym is strict and won't allow cameras in.

I guess I could take a picture of myself squatting with like a broom handle or something in my own house since I have no barbells, just for form comparison.

[Ford Prefect]

http://www.ipapower.com/images/photos/photo012.jpg

I use a wider stance than in this but the rest seems mostly right... squat back not down, keep my knees rotated out, rip ground apart with my feet. I only got slightly below parellel when free squatting.

I can't remember what the board under the heels is for. I know it's mentioned in plenty of BB articles I've read.

[IronFist]

Originally posted by Ford Prefect
http://www.ipapower.com/images/photos/photo012.jpg

I use a wider stance than in this but the rest seems mostly right... squat back not down, keep my knees rotated out, rip ground apart with my feet. I only got slightly below parellel when free squatting.

I can't remember what the board under the heels is for. I know it's mentioned in plenty of BB articles I've read.

Holy crap you have your feet wider than him? His feet are practically at the edge of the rack! His left knee isn't really over his left foot, however, there is a bit of distortion in that photo that you can tell from looking at the ceiling, or looking at the vertical parts of the rack that would be parallel in real life.

I think I remember the board under the feet being for if your calves aren't flexible enough to allow you to keep your feet flat on the floor as you go all the way down. Some people's heels naturally come up as they near the bottom of the movement, so I think putting the board under the heels just lets them keep their feet on something so they're not balancing on their toes at the bottom with a lot of weight on their backs. I've actually seen people squat like that before; with weight on the bar and their heels coming up at the bottom.

[Ford Prefect]

Yeah. After I typed the post, I realized that his feet were pretty wide, and figured it was just some abstract of my mind telling me that I was that wide. I didn't feel like editting. :p

That could be it with the board. I know I've read a use for this in Ian King's stuff though. I just can't remember off the top of my head.

[abobo]

The board under the feet is probably like plates under the heels, or shoes with heels, which let you go deeper while keeping the upper body a little more upright. The knees go forward more, though.

Bodybuilders who do it are probably just thinking about blasting the quads.

[Toby]

Forgive me - I'm too lazy to do web research on this, so I'm hoping you guys can help me out. When squatting heavy (for me :D) if I'm reaching my limits, after coming down to the bottom position, I feel like I lose my lower back arch and lift with my back a lot more (well, exclusively with my back for a good half foot or so). Sorta like a dodgy good morning since my back must be rounded after I lose the arch. I can't do it now without weights, so I'm finding it hard to describe. Also, it happens when I'm struggling, so I don't really have time to analyse what's going on. I don't do squats like that picture of Arnie Iron posted a few weeks back. I go down to just below parallel, not all the way down, and I stand with a wide stance, just over 3/4 of the width of my power rack.

Am I setting myself up for injury? Should I just drop the bar onto the spotter bars if I feel I'm losing form? I mean, I can still get the bar up, but I definitely use my back a lot more to do it. Am I describing a common squat form problem? Are my legs too weak to lift so I go and rely on my back instead?

Thanks in advance guys.

[fa_jing]

Try tensing your abs like a mutherfckr when you are approaching the bottom position and keep them tense until you are out of the hole.

[Ford Prefect]

Yes, you are setting yourself up for injury. Not because of your squatting style. I squat the same way and it is considered a powerlifting squat. You'll eventually injure your back and maybe slip a disc if you lose your arch like that especially with heavy weights.

You need to strengthen your arch and your lower back. I'd recommend doing arch back goodmornings and stopping squats for a while. It's basically a Goodmorning, but instead of doing them with a neutral back, you arch and you arch HARD! You will not be able to go as low and still maintain this arch, but that is expected. The ROM will be smaller than a regular goodmorning.

Doing pull-throughs is also a good way to strengthen the lower back and posterior chain. You may want to add those after your goodmornings. Start at 5 sets of 8 and add a set every week until your are doing 8x8. PM me with your email addy and I can send over an mpeg of pull throughs.

You are only as strong as your weakest link. You're squat will probably go up after doing all this even though you are not squatting...

[GeneChing]

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/squat.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1100
Reuters/Anindito Mukherjee
A young boy in Delhi, India looks pretty comfortable in this posture.
GET LOW
THE FORGOTTEN ART OF SQUATTING IS A REVELATION FOR BODIES RUINED BY SITTING (https://quartzy.qz.com/1121077/to-solve-problems-caused-by-sitting-learn-to-squat/?utm_source=qzfb)
By Rosie SpinksNovember 9, 2017
Sentences that start with the phrase “A guru once told me…” are, more often than not, eye-roll-inducing. But recently, while resting in malasana, or a deep squat, in an East London yoga class, I was struck by the second half of the instructor’s sentence: “A guru once told me that the problem with the West is they don’t squat.”

This is plainly true. In much of the developed world, resting is synonymous with sitting. We sit in desk chairs, eat from dining chairs, commute seated in cars or on trains, and then come home to watch Netflix from comfy couches. With brief respites for walking from one chair to another, or short intervals for frenzied exercise, we spend our days mostly sitting. This devotion to placing our backsides in chairs makes us an outlier, both globally and historically. In the past half century, epidemiologists have been forced to shift how they study movement patterns. In modern times, the sheer amount of sitting we do is a separate problem from the amount of exercise we get.

Our failure to squat has biomechanical and physiological implications, but it also points to something bigger. In a world where we spend so much time in our heads, in the cloud, on our phones, the absence of squatting leaves us bereft of the grounding force that the posture has provided since our hominid ancestors first got up off the floor. In other words: If what we want is to be well, it might be time for us to get low.

To be clear, squatting isn’t just an artifact of our evolutionary history. A large swath of the planet’s population still does it on a daily basis, whether to rest, to pray, to cook, to share a meal, or to use the toilet. (Squat-style toilets are the norm in Asia, and pit latrines in rural areas all over the world require squatting.) As they learn to walk, toddlers from New Jersey to Papua New Guinea squat—and stand up from a squat—with grace and ease. In countries where hospitals are not widespread, squatting is also a position associated with that most fundamental part of life: birth.

It’s not specifically the West that no longer squats; it’s the rich and middle classes all over the world. My Quartz colleague, Akshat Rathi, originally from India, remarked that the guru’s observation would be “as true among the rich in Indian cities as it is in the West.”

But in Western countries, entire populations—rich and poor—have abandoned the posture. On the whole, squatting is seen as an undignified and uncomfortable posture—one we avoid entirely. At best, we might undertake it during Crossfit, pilates or while lifting at the gym, but only partially and often with weights (a repetitive maneuver that’s hard to imagine being useful 2.5 million years ago). This ignores the fact that deep squatting as a form of active rest is built in to both our evolutionary and developmental past: It’s not that you can’t comfortably sit in a deep squat, it’s just that you’ve forgotten how.

“The game started with squatting,” says author and osteopath Phillip Beach. Beach is known for pioneering the idea of “archetypal postures.” These positions—which, in addition to a deep passive squat with the feet flat on the floor, include sitting cross legged and kneeling on one’s knees and heels—are not just good for us, but “deeply embedded into the way our bodies are built.”

“You really don’t understand human bodies until you realize how important these postures are,” Beach, who is based in Wellington, New Zealand, tells me. “Here in New Zealand, it’s cold and wet and muddy. Without modern trousers, I wouldn’t want to put my backside in the cold wet mud, so [in absence of a chair] I would spend a lot of time squatting. The same thing with going to the toilet. The whole way your physiology is built is around these postures.”
continued next post

[GeneChing]

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ChinaReuters/Stringer
In much of the world, squatting is as normal a part of life as sitting in a chair.

So why is squatting so good for us? And why did so many of us stop doing it?

It comes down to a simple matter of “use it or lose it,” says Dr. Bahram Jam, a physical therapist and founder of the Advanced Physical Therapy Education Institute (APTEI) in Ontario, Canada.

“Every joint in our body has synovial fluid in it. This is the oil in our body that provides nutrition to the cartilage,” Jam says. “Two things are required to produce that fluid: movement and compression. So if a joint doesn’t go through its full range—if the hips and knees never go past 90 degrees—the body says ‘I’m not being used’ and starts to degenerate and stops the production of synovial fluid.”

A healthy musculoskeletal system doesn’t just make us feel lithe and juicy, it also has implications for our wider health. A 2014 study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that test subjects who showed difficulty getting up off the floor without support of hands, or an elbow, or leg (what’s called the “sitting-rising test”) resulted in a three-year-shorter life expectancy than subjects who got up with ease.

In the West, the reason people stopped squatting regularly has a lot to do with our toilet design. Holes in the ground, outhouses and chamber pots all required the squat position, and studies show that greater hip flexion in this pose is correlated with less strain when relieving oneself. Seated toilets are by no means a British invention—the first simple toilets date back to Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium B.C., while the ancient Minoans on the island of Crete are said to have first pioneered the flush—but they were first adopted in Britain by the Tudors, who enlisted “grooms of the stool” to help them relieve themselves in ornate, throne-like loos in the 16th century.

The next couple hundred years saw slow, uneven toilet innovation, but in 1775 a watchmaker named Alexander Cummings developed an S-shape pipe which sat below a raised cistern, a crucial development. It wasn’t until after the mid-to-late-1800s, when London finally built a functioning sewer system after persistent cholera outbreaks and the horrific-sounding “great stink” of 1858, that fully flushable, seated toilets started to commonly appear in people’s homes.

Today, the flushable squat-style toilets found across Asia are, of course, no less sanitary than Western counterparts. But Jam says Europe’s shift to the seated throne design robbed most Westerners of the need (and therefore the daily practice) of squatting. Indeed the realization that squatting leads to better bowel movements has fueled the cult-like popularity of the Lillipad and the Squatty Potty, raised platforms that turn a Western-style toilet into a squatting one—and allow the user to sit in a flexed position that mimics a squat.

“The reason squatting is so uncomfortable because we don’t do it,” Jam says. “But if you go to the restroom once or twice a day for a bowel movement and five times a day for bladder function, that’s five or six times a day you’ve squatted.”

While this physical discomfort may be the main reason we don’t squat more, the West’s aversion to the squat is cultural, too. While squatting or sitting cross legged in an office chair would be great for the hip joint, the modern worker’s wardrobe—not to mention formal office etiquette—generally makes this kind of posture unfeasible. The only time we might expect a Western leader or elected official to hover close to the ground is for a photo-op with cute kindergarteners. Indeed, the people we see squatting on the sidewalk in a city like New York or London tend to be the types of people we blow past in self-important rush.

“It’s considered primitive and of low social status to squat somewhere,” says Jam. “When we think of squatting we think of a peasant in India, or an African village tribesman, or an unhygienic city floor. We think we’ve evolved past that—but really we’ve devolved away from it.”

Avni Trivedi, a doula and osteopath based in London (disclosure: I have visited her in the past for my own sitting-induced aches) says the same is true of squatting as a birthing position, which is still prominent in many developing parts of the world and is increasingly advocated by holistic birthing movements in the West.

“In a squatting birthing position, the muscles relax and you’re allowing the sacrum to have free movement so the baby can push down, with gravity playing a role too,” Trivedi says. “But the perception that this position was primitive is why women went from this active position to being on the bed, where they are less embodied and have less agency in the birthing process.”

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Reuters/Carlos Barria
Children in the West squat with ease. Why can’t their parents?

So should we replace sitting with squatting and say goodbye to our office chairs forever? Beach points out that “any posture held for too long causes problems” and there are studies to suggest that populations that spend excessive time in a deep squat (hours per day), do have a higher incidence of knee and osteoarthritis issues.

But for those of us who have largely abandoned squatting, Beach says, “you can’t really overdo this stuff.” Beyond this kind of movement improving our joint health and flexibility, Trivedi points out that a growing interest in yoga worldwide is perhaps in part a recognition that “being on the ground helps you physically be grounded in yourself”—something that’s largely missing from our screen-dominated, hyper-intellectualized lives.

Beach agrees that this is not a trend, but an evolutionary impulse. Modern wellness movements are starting to acknowledge that “floor life” is key. He argues that the physical act of grounding ourselves has been nothing short of instrumental to our species’ becoming.

In a sense, squatting is where humans—every single one of us—came from, so it behooves us to revisit it as often as we can.
I often cite squatting as the key to CMA. We don't squat enough in America.